Author's Note:

I do not own Library of Ruina or RWBY. These series belong to Project Moon and RoosterTeeth respectively (I guess not anymore...). Everything I say is to not be taken as canon, they are merely add-ons to the story to flesh it out.

I'm done with the semester! Finals were completed and I finally had time to continue the story… except the fact that immediately afterward, my family planned a trip to Florida; and I couldn't bring my laptop… So I had to use my phone to write most of this chapter and post it. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. Sorry if the quality is kinda bad, I just had to finish what I started with. I'll try to make something better next time.

Either way, that's my personal life stuff over, now we talk about both series. As you know, RWBY is going to get picked up by "someone." I have no idea who they are, but I'm betting on something: they'll probably reboot the series. It's sad to see how far RWBY's gotten, but I'd say a reboot is what it needs considering it'll be under new management.

As for the other series, Library of Ruina is still the best game ever, but their developer's current game is frankly, fucking amazing. Holy shit, I cannot with Limbus—it's so goated. I got back into recently because I was fucking hyped when I read Canto 6. I won't say much to spoil stuff but man does Maid Ryoshu make me feel certain things.

Anyways, that's it from me. Thank you all, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Reviews:

Guest - Crunchyroll picking up something big like RWBY is a plausible move, and is probably the right answer. But I feel like they would milk the series for profit. I would give it to someone like Dilliongoo or the people at Cake Station and Visual Outcast Studio, they're RWBY fans and some of the best when it comes to RWBY-style animation.

Scifive - Yeah, Qrow and Roland are my favorite male characters from both series. The female ones being Coco and Binah. Either way, thank you for the support!

Emm - Well, gaining E.G.O. is a pretty brutal process. It requires some individual that was affected by the Light after the White Nights and Dark Days go through some mental trauma and basically almost give into their negative emotions whilst the "Voice" is trying to make them distort. They would need to refuse this voice and try to fight for their ideals—e.g. Philip gaining his incomplete E.G.O. to never cry again and Xiao gaining hers because her love for Lowell was too strong to extinguish. While Salem and Ozma have been through some rough shit over their lives, the Light hasn't graced Remnant until recently.

—BASEMENT, THE LIBRARY—

"Cinder Fall. I read about her and her team, Team CMSN," Roland added. "Did you kidnap her?"

"No."

"I dunno, Angela… Seems kinda fishy to me."

"Upon her entrance to the Library yesterday night, I noticed her sneaking around immediately. She attempted to enter the Floor of History, but in the elevator, I overheard her communicating with Roman Torchwick. Due to that, I swapped her to Binah's Floor as she was still there. After which, Ms. Fall attempted to murder one of the Assistant Librarians. Still, Binah intervened—turning this into an improvisational Reception."

Roland raised an eyebrow at the news. Someone tried to raid the Library again? Were they really this unlucky? Upon looking at the unconscious girl's body, he didn't notice any damage. "For someone fighting against an Arbiter, she looks unharmed. Did Binah go easy on her?"

"After multiple remarks and… threats, Ms. Fall suffered five broken ribs, lacerations all over her arms, a dislocated hand, severe concussions, a shattered Aura, and I can only assume trauma," Angela clarified.

"Sheesh, even I wouldn't dare piss her off," Roland said as he shook his head. "So, how is she fully healed? I'm guessing you fixed her up?"

Angela shook her head, "No, I did not. Her Aura healed did most of the work. All I did was place her in this room."

"What?" Roland said with a baffled tone. "I know Aura is pretty amazing and can shrug off bullets, but it shouldn't heal this fast. At best with a broken Aura, it should take around a day or so till it's renewed."

"Remember what I said about Maidens holding extreme power?" Angela reminded him. After putting some pieces together, Roland nodded slowly. He moved away from the bed and leaned on one of the walls, crossing his arms.

"She's a Maiden, then?"

"Specifically, half of the Fall Maiden."

"'Half?'"

"Ozpin informed me of this a week ago. Seemingly, someone stole half of the Fall Maiden's powers sometime before we arrived in Remnant. As I said, these Maidens hold extreme powers that are unlike anything seen in Remnant; therefore, it should be warranted that many people would desire this power. Much like Ms. Cinder Fall here," Angela explained as she directed her gaze toward the unconscious half-Maiden.

"Y'know, it sounds like destiny for her. Cinder Fall, Fall Maiden. Sounds like a match made in heaven, no?" Roland wondered.

"Although we do not understand the circumstances behind her actions, she first and foremost attempted to harm one of us."

"That, I can get behind," Roland wholeheartedly approved. "By the way, does Ozpin or the General know about this?"

"No. Not yet."

"Alright," Roland shrugged. "So what do you plan to do with her then?"

"Much like how Ozpin and General Ironwood won't risk the Fall Maiden's power, we should exercise a similar caution to Ms. Fall's condition," Angela began. "We cannot tell if one dies, the other half will return to the other, and her fight with Binah only proved to show how weak she currently is. Until her condition improves, we will keep her here until then. Perhaps we can extract information from her without resorting to violence or booking her."

"Very optimistic of you," Roland hummed. "Sure, why not?"

"I thought you would object to this, as she works with Roman Torchwick, who I am aware that you dislike," Angela cocked her head in confusion.

"Well, it's not like I'm going to hate her because I hate Torchwick. I've learned from that mistake. They're two different people. If anything, I'm sure Ozpin or the General would kill her even if she was just acquainted with that bowler-hatted ass just to protect their Fall Maiden. Geez, if they're that desperate for a maiden…" Roland scoffed.

The Head Librarian only nodded in response, checking on Cinder. A grasp of her wrist told her everything she needed to know. "Well, her condition is still stable, though she might not wake up for a while. Most likely a day or two."

"How did you become a certified medic?" Roland questioned, watching Angela do her work.

"Years of watching clerks and agents attempt to save their friends and co-workers."

"Ah, yeah. That."

"The Assembly for first-year students is going to start soon," Angela mentioned before sighing. "I should get some food for this… body."

Excited for his friend, Roland started to lead the way. "If we get there fast enough, there should still be some food left at the cafeteria before all the students eat it all."

"You know you don't have to get excited for my being," Angela said. "I can still function without food for a week straight."

After a few weeks of adjusting to a sleeping schedule, Angela now had to deal with food. Upon asking Hokma, the white-haired librarian theorized that Angela's newly formed stomach would now "digest" food and give her some power. While she didn't need to eat as much as normal people did, she still needed something to eat.

"That's no way to live. You got a stomach and taste buds now. Might as well use them," Roland strongly suggested. "Food is delicious. You ate those pieces of bread like you were a starving Rat."

"Fine," Angela sighed, rolling her eyes. "Afterward, we're going to the Assembly."

"Fine by me," Roland agreed as he smiled at her. "Oh, what if she does wake up though?"

Angela turned to look back at Roland, then looked at Cinder. It was a possibility after all. After a moment of deciding, she answered, "Binah wouldn't mind a second round."

"You're horrible for doing that to the poor girl."

—A WHILE LATER—

—AMPHITHEATER, BEACON ACADEMY—

At some point, Professor Goodwitch used the school's PA system to call all students to the amphitheater. As soon as the students came pouring in, Roland and Angela had already found their spot behind the students on the left side of the room. Teachers and other staff also lined up similarly to them but were on the opposite side. Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin were standing on the stage, overlooking everyone else. Angela and Roland waited until they spotted some friendly faces.

"Oi, Malkuth! Yesod! Over here!" Roland called out to the other Librarians as he waved his hand to catch their attention.

"Ah, there they are!" Malkuth pointed out to the others.

After making their way through the moving wall of students, the group of Librarians reached them. Thankfully, Binah was not a part of one of them—she most likely had no qualms with an assembly that didn't concern her.

"I would prefer if you didn't shout like that to call us over," Yesod lectured.

"He means to say 'Hi'," Malkuth corrected her fellow Asiyah Librarian. "Hey, Angela. Hey, again, Roland."

"How are you guys' doing?" Roland asked.

"Good afternoon, Roland and Angela," Hod addressed. "We're doing alright."

"Glad to see that you're back, Roland~," Chesed said as he held his usual steaming cup.

"Where would you guys be without me?" Roland jokes.

"Don't get too cocky," Tiphereth huffed. "But, welcome back, I guess."

As they greeted him, Roland couldn't help but wonder out loud. "Where's Gebura, Netzach, and the old man?"

"Gebura didn't want to come—said that she was doing something else," Tiphereth spoke first. "And Hokma said he would arrive later."

"Netzach was asleep the last time I saw him," Yesod answered next.

Roland nodded in acknowledgment. He wanted to at least talk to Netzach about getting another drinking party together, but it'll have to wait. At the same time, it seemed like their yellow librarian was right as Hokma entered through the doors, alongside two other familiar faces—a certain long blue-haired and purple-haired duo.

"What a group of people," Roland commented as BongBong and Dakota walked closely behind Hokma. The three librarians made their way over to the rest without stepping on any of the backpacks the students were leaving on the floor next to the door. After that, they joined them and greeted the rest before splitting off into different conversational groups.

—BONGBONG, HOD, ANGELA, ROLAND—

"Hi BongBong," Hod greeted with a smile.

"BongBong," BongBong happily greeted.

"How's your work?"

"BongBong BongBong Bong."

"I see, I hope it's not too much trouble to ask for some help. I know Miss Binah doesn't usually do the bookkeeping herself, but if you need some help, come ask me, alright?" Hod reassured the blue-haired librarian.

"BongBong."

Leaning over to Angela, Roland whispered, "You sure you can't translate her like you did with those creepy Carnival guys?"

"No. It is something I cannot decipher."

"Aw shucks."

—DAKOTA, MALKUTH, CHESED—

Meanwhile, right next to them, another conversation was taking place.

"Yo," Dakota chimed in.

"Dakota, if you're here, who's managing the Floor of History?" Malkuth questioned.

"Uh, I'm… on my break?" Dakota slowly spoke, trying to come up with an excuse.

The Patron Librarian looked at her with a suspicious gaze, before suddenly dropping it entirely and patting Dakota's shoulders. "Don't worry about it then. I'm sure there's no one there anyway. I mean, look at all the first years here," Malkuth said as she gestured behind herself. "Not a lot of the upperclassmen go to the Library anyways."

"Hehehe, yeah," Dakota chuckled.

"Still, what are you two doing here~?" Chesed wondered as he gazed toward BongBong as well. "You especially, Dakota. You rarely leave the Library, save for grabbing food."

"Ah, you know," Dakota said as she looked slightly away. "It gets pretty lonely in the Library. It doesn't hurt to talk to people once in a while considering that they aren't trying to kill you most of the time."

"That, we can agree on~," Chesed said, sipping on his coffee.

—TIPHERETH, HOKMA, YESOD—

"Where were you?" Tiphereth questioned.

"Excuse my tardiness, I was researching the origins of Hard-Light Dust," Hokma explained.

"'Hard-Light,'" Yesod repeated. "The Dust using a combination of the four primary Dust? The one that can create an assortment of objects or weaponry?"

"Yes, it is interesting."

"It is, but what about them?" Tiphereth curiously asked. She had searched up the Dust before as it was the only Dust that she couldn't get her hands on. It seemed like only Atlas had access to the Dust and it was the rarest Dust available—the Schnee Dust Company held a monopoly on it.

"If you recall our time during Lobotomy Corporation, we had a multitude of bullets readily available for the Manager to use," Hokma reminded them, causing the two other librarians to become curious as to where he was going with this.

"The Managerial Bullets, yes, they were designed to help agents during times of containment breach," Yesod clarified.

"What do the bullets have to do with Hard-Light?" Tiphereth asked.

"Although the process and materials are different, it is a similar technology in the City." The news caused both librarians to go wide-eyed as Hokma took out his Scroll, displaying Atlas's publicly released research document on the topic. "Based on other's prior research, I noticed that the make-up of Hard-Light Dust is very similar, yet different to Lobotomy Corporation's shields produced by the Managerial Bullets. For one, both are used for defensive means, but Hard-Light is many times weaker and more versatile in every way. Even those Fixers that infiltrated the Corporation used some kind of similar material to defend themselves; the White Fixer in particular," Hokma explained.

"Interesting," Yesod commented. "You are positive that this information is correct?"

"Without a sample in my hands, I cannot determine if it truly is similar. However, I am fairly certain the design is the same."

"Weird how some parts of our world are the same as this one," Tiphereth stated as she narrowed her eyes at the screen. "It looks like the one the Manager gave me."

A look of confusion washed over Hokma. He didn't quite catch that part. "Miss Tiphereth, you said you 'gave you?'" It was confusing as it was the Sephirah who commissioned the Manager with several research goals, and then the Manager would choose one of them. In this case, it seemed like the Manager willingly gave the research blueprints for the bullets?

"Yes. The Manager was the one who came up with the idea. He brought up the idea after we signed the Nano Technology Agreement contract with K. Corporation. I don't know how, but he gave us a schematic of what the bullets should be and look like already. Regardless, we completed the research and it proved to be an invaluable asset.

The white-haired librarian solemnly went silent, as he opened his mouth, he couldn't find himself to speak. Without any fuss, Hokma closed his mouth before speaking, "...I see. Thank you, however, I will take my leave now."

"Wha—" Before Tiphereth could even get the words out, the Patron of Religion already started making his way out the doors. Turning to her fellow librarian, she started complaining, "What happened?"

"I do not have an answer," Yesod spoke, crossing his arms.

—A FEW MINUTES LATER—

Soon, the last of the students were already starting to enter the amphitheater—Team JNPR had come by and greeted them before moving ahead. Although Roland and the two Assistant Librarians had no idea what happened last night, the Librarians saw how close Jaune and Pyrrha had become. The sight of Jaune only served to make Malkuth and Hod chuckle, making them remember the dress he wore.

Finally, it seemed like Team RWBY had arrived at last. Surprisingly, the girl dressed in red and black was carrying a huge bag while her teammates weren't carrying anything at all. Speaking of which, it looked like Blake was uncomfortable ever since entering the building. Was there something wrong with her? As Roland watched the young group of girls stand in front of their friends, the scent of something hit him.

"Why does it smell like a dog here?" Roland openly questioned.

"Have you smelled yourself?" That got a lot of the Librarians giggling.

"Geez, thanks, Tiphereth," Roland sighed before a loud voice shook the entire room.

"Quiet! Quiet please," Professor Goodwitch demanded. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

Once the white-haired professor walked up to the microphone, he began his speech.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale." The rest of the speech sounded like a history lesson, explaining why they have colored names and how it reflects their unity and diversity. The Librarians understood the message's tone, but it didn't hold much weight when the assembly focused on the first-year students' first mission. Ultimately, the speech came down to maintaining peace through the efforts of Huntsmen and Huntresses. "But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

As the Beacon Headmaster started to walk off-stage, he heard applause from one section of the crowd but paid no mind to it. As he walked, something was catching his attention: a certain first-year team discussing something.

—TEAM RWBY—

"This is perfect!" Ruby cheered. "All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!"

Yang immediately perked up, "Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip by night!"

"It is a professional huntsman or huntress," Weiss stressed. "I seriously doubt that they wouldn't catch some students sneaking off."

"I don't know about that," Blake chimed in. "I snuck by Doctor Oobleck several times and he didn't notice me."

"He must've been out of it," Weiss came up with an excuse. "Also, why were you avoiding the Professor?"

"I like to sneak around at night."

"During curfew?! And why are you sneaking around at night?" Weiss haughtily questioned.

Blake shrugged, "It's a habit. Sorry if the room was cold before."

"I knew it!" Ruby jumped up. "I told you, Weiss! The window was open."

"The room felt the same temperature to me."

"You lived in Atlas! It's practically freezing there!" Ruby countered.

"Well, sneaking or not, we're just gonna do the old Team RWBY motto: wing it!" Yang announced, keeping the conversation on track. In response, both Ruby and Blake agreed with her, causing their other teammate to sigh.

"Fine, let's go check 'Search and Destroy'," Weiss begrudgingly agreed. Then, all four of them moved to one of the holographic screens. The one they went to was surprisingly void of any students except for one Vale student who took one look at the screen and then walked away.

"Here we go!" Ruby said, pointing toward one of the screens. "Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out!"

"Well, it's in the southeast," Blake commented.

"Sounds perfect!"

As the team leader selected the search and destroy mission, she inputted their team name. However, the screen displayed red text stating: "MISSION UNAVAILABLE TO FIRST YEAR STUDENTS."

"Wonderful," Weiss sarcastically cheered.

"Why is this mission here then?" Yang questioned.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked.

"We mail ourselves there!" Ruby suggested.

"Well, that's one option," Ozpin speaks up as he appears in front of them, getting their attention. As the team of young girls stands in surprise, Ozpin continues. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. It seems like that particular region is rather popular."

He studied the girls' expressions before continuing. While Blake and Weiss may have not shown anything, Ozpin could feel nervousness radiating from them. Yang, on the other hand, was looking away—giving herself away. As for their leader, however, her eyes were bouncing all over the place, looking for a way out.

"I am quite curious as to why you four decided to take this particular mission though. Is there something there that I should know?"

"Whatever makes you say that?" Ruby nervously asked.

"You four have been in the center of most drama in this school year. From being at the docks last semester, witnesses reporting seeing robots and rose petals at a night club some time ago, and somehow you want to go to the southeast," Ozpin explained, noticing the nervousness painted on their faces. "Regardless of whatever reason, I have the sneaking suspicion that you four will make your way there no matter what job you choose."

"Um… well…"

"I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So how about this: instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" Ozpin proposed. He presses and selects some things on the Scroll, prompting the holographic screen to make a noise. Surprise lights up the girls' faces before determination replaces it.

"We won't let you down. Thank you, professor."

"While I do appreciate your enthusiasm, the concentration of Grimm is far beyond the likes of a first-year team and a pro huntsman, so I cannot just only send one huntsman for you to shadow," the Headmaster spoke.

"What? Does that mean we'll get two huntsmen?!" Ruby lit up in excitement. On the other hand, the rest of her team was less enthusiastic about it.

"Hmm, no," Ozpin mused. "We have far too few huntsmen for that. However… there is a group of individuals who would be willing to tag alongside you."

Ruby's face lit up even more. "One of the Librarians is gonna come with us!? Who!?"

"That, we will have to see. Much like your assigned Huntsman, you never know who you will be working with in the real world after all," Ozpin wisely said.

"Thank you anyways, professor."

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far. But you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care. Stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. While the Librarian will be there as backup, your main Huntsman will be leading you on this mission, and he or she can have you sent back to Beacon, if they find your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck."

After watching the white-haired headmaster walk away from them, they immediately started to head out. Before they could exit the building, Ruby ran over to grab her backpack, struggling to get it on. Catching up with her team, they headed toward the airship that would bring them to their mission.

Once again, Blake got chills sent up her spine for some reason.

—A FEW MINUTES BEFORE—

—THE LIBRARIANS—

After finishing his speech, Ozpin stepped away from the microphone and went offstage. The Librarians gave the Headmaster applause as it was a nice speech. However, the speech must've not been very endearing to the students as they started immediately walking toward the holographic screens on the sides of the room.

"Wow, aren't they rude?" Dakota remarked.

"Bong Bong," BongBong huffed.

"Well, what are you guys going to do?" Roland spoke up.

"Since we're not huntsmen or huntresses, we're not allowed to do these missions," Hod added.

"Perhaps go relax~," Chesed said.

"You always relax, you should do something else."

"Like what, Tiphereth? It's not like anything major is happening right now," Roland pointed out. "The festival is going to start soon so why not relax till then?"

"A great outlook on life, Roland," a voice said behind him.

"Oh, Ozpin. What's up," Roland greeted upon turning around and coming face-to-face with Beacon's Headmaster. However, a certain blonde librarian jabbed him in the side of the stomach after he said that. "Oof."

Tiphereth held out her hand. "This is the Headmaster of Beacon and technically our superior. Show some respect!" In response, all Roland could do was apologize while he was still getting hit—not showing any signs of pain at all. Ozpin, on the other hand, was chuckling.

"Well, I do prefer talking informally among friends," Ozpin smiled. "Anyways, I came to see if any one of you would be willing to accompany Team RWBY for their mission." All the Librarians looked at each other with glances before returning to the headmaster. Seeing their confused gazes, Ozpin explained further, "They chose to partake in a mission for second-years; I am allowing them only if they take another person to supervise them."

"What's the mission?" Malkuth asked.

"Search and destroy, though, it might become a reconnaissance mission."

"I just got back from one, so can I be pardoned from this?" Roland asked, earning a deadpanned stare from all the Librarians. The man who could fight a hundred people without any issue wanted to be excluded? "Yeah yeah… another mission doesn't mean a thing to me."

"How many? What's the threat?" Tiphereth asked.

"Grimm. No less than a hundred. There shouldn't be any seriously dangerous Grimm, but there are some Goliaths lurking around the area. Although, there have been some reports of a White Fang base hidden there."

The Librarians looked at each other, glancing at each other once more. With a simultaneous nod from all of them, they all glared at each other with serious intent. Angela and Hod, specifically, backed out of the exchange. The rest of them all gathered in a circle and placed their hands in the middle. With a simple shake of their hands, they threw out their fingers.

While everyone else cheered as they held out a two, the single person sighed as they held up a one—effectively making them the odd one out. The librarian took the time to calculate the probability of their loss and was disappointed with the results.

"Great," Ozpin grinned. "Meet with Team RWBY and Doctor Oobleck at Dock 5."

"Fine, I suppose." Before they left, they turned to face the Librarian Director. "Angela."

Understanding, Angela complied, "Here's a Key Page."

As soon as the chosen librarian had left, the rest of the Librarian had nothing much to do so they ended up departing one by one. However, before all of them left, Angela called over two of them.

"BongBong, Dakota," Angela called.

"Yeah?"

"Bong?"

"I need you two for something."

—LATER—

After Team RWBY left the auditorium, instead of going to the docks, they met up with Velvet. The girl was shaken up by what happened during their mission but didn't give much detail other than that there were so many Grimm. Soon, she had to leave to catch up with the rest of her team.

"I should go. Be safe, okay?"

Due to the rabbit faunus's words, Weiss and Blake felt a little discouraged by what they were trying to do. If a second-year team like Team CFVY struggled, then what would that mean for a first-year team like Team RWBY? The team of girls started to get a little discouraged.

"We can do this," Ruby said with determination, regardless of the challenge. "We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now."

"Right."

"Besides, it won't only be us out there! We'll be fighting alongside a genuine Huntsman!"

"Yeah!"

Hastily, the team of girls made their way to the docks. Excited for what's to come. It was their first 'official' mission after all—the investigation of the Library could barely even be a mission. Plus, they would have a chance to learn from a pro huntsmen outside the classroom. Looking up ahead, they saw their assigned huntsman and the Librarian who was going with them.

Immediately, they froze upon seeing who was going to teach them.

"Why, hello girls! Who's ready to fight for their lives?" The coffee-addicted professor greeted, wearing a long brown great coat and a pith helmet instead of his usual shirt and tie.

"15.625%..." The purple-haired librarian muttered. He was wearing a long black two-button jacket above a gray dress shirt and black tie, gray pants, and brownish army boots. There was also a black shoulder bag and an odd-looking rifle strapped onto his back.

"Professor Oobleck? And Mr. Yesod?" Weiss questioned.

"Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman plus one on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, updated some additions to our Scrolls with permission, of course, and readied the airship. And…" Oobleck ran up to Weiss's face. "It's 'Doctor' Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!"

"Uh…"

"Greetings, Team RWBY," Yesod addressed. "I assume that you are all prep—"

"No need, my fellow companion! We are running late! Come now, children; according to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind—" The green-haired doctor paused for a moment before dashing off toward the bullhead. "Schedule!"

Yesod sighed as he slowly followed Doctor Oobleck.

"Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with…" Ruby started out upbeat but slowly became despondent as she was talking. "Mr. Yesod and Doctor Oooobleck– okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."

"'Save the world?'" Immediately turning around, the girls found themselves face-to-face with their sister team. Nora, specifically, was the first to speak behind them. Being dramatic about it, the ginger-haired girl continued, "You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt… sad!"

Just as she finished talking, it wasn't long till her stomach growled. "Maybe a little hungry? That last one's not your fault, though, Ren…"

Without responding, the black-haired member of their team just crossed his arms and looked away, huffing. He had just fed her this morning already.

"Sounds exciting," Jaune tried hyping the girls up. "Where ya going?"

"Oh, just outside the kingdom…" Ruby sheepishly said.

"Hey! So are we!" Nora jumped in, forgetting that she was hungry.

"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow a sheriff of a nearby village," Pyhrra explained.

"We set out tomorrow," Ren finished.

"Then you can party with us tonight!" Both teams turned their gaze toward the incoming Neptune and Sun. The two boys approached them before stopping. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges."

While the others were amused, a certain blonde was awestruck by their mission.

"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk, so we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know... normal," Sun explained.

"Well—" Ruby, embarrassed, tried to explain themselves but was interrupted.

"Four minutes, ladies!" Oobleck shouted from outside the bullhead, before heading back in. Yesod was already sitting inside looking at them with that sharp gaze of his painted on his face. All the students, except Sun and Neptune, froze at his sight.

"Well, uh…" Ruby gives her friends a thumbs up. "Wish us luck!"

Before any of them got the chance to comment about it, the four girls ran toward the bullhead, causing some dust to kick up behind them. Both Team JNPR and half of Team SSSN look at each other before turning back to the bullhead flying off into the distance.

"Well… that just happened," Jaune commented.

"Yeah…"

"Welp, whatcha guys gonna do later?" Sun asked. "We're all starting our missions tomorrow, might as well hang out since we don't hang out often."

"Hmm," Nora massaged her chin, thinking of something. "You want to go break some knees?"

"Maybe," Neptune swaggered his way toward Nora, "but can I trust that you won't break my heart?"

Instantly, the blue-haired boy felt a sharp gaze at the back of his head. Even though he couldn't know, he felt pink eyes and black hair glaring him down. Sweat dripped down his face as he stayed still, moving his eyes to see if they would move to the back of his head. It was as if a dagger was poking the back of his neck whilst he was bound by something.

"Hehe, sorry, no can do. Can't make any promises like that," Nora forcibly chuckled.

As the two groups interacted with each other, in the distance, Ozpin was observing them. He already had high hopes for Team RWBY, but never did he consider their friends to rival even them. He had seen Team JNPR become a great team—in his eyes, they had better teamwork than Team RWBY. Jaune was the brilliant tactician, Nora was the powerhouse, Pyrrha was the experienced fighter, and Ren was the best backup fighter.

As for the two members of Team SSSN, he had no comments about the Haven students as he didn't know much about them. But, if they were chosen to participate in the Vytal Festival, then Leonardo must've had a good reason. Regardless, they brought laughter and comedic moments to the friend group.

Soon, the Headmaster left the group of students plus two librarians to themselves. Hopefully, things will pan out nicely for the future.

Hopefully.

—IN THE AIR—

'Something smells…' Yesod thought as he sat next to Doctor Oobleck. Team RWBY sat opposite them side by side. Although the students' missions were supposed to last a week, he was just hoping that this one wouldn't take long. He theorized that he could probably last three days… or two before he becomes even more irritated.

"I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang doubted their professor.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles," Doctor Oobleck proclaimed.

"Like the mushroom?"

"Those are truffles."

"Like the sprout?"

"Those are Brussels."

"Tussles, as in fights, Miss Rose," Yesod corrected the girl, who looked a little embarrassed.

"Besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular... assignment!" The green-haired doctor explained. "As for our librarian fellow, I do… not know."

Yesod explained, "I was selected via elimination."

"I see. Do not worry, Mr. Yesod. No matter how we all got here, it is the journey, not the destination. This shall be a glorious expedition!" In response, the purple-haired librarian sighed as he accepted his fate. Speaking of accepting his fate, he turned his gaze toward the leader of Team RWBY, who was watching him as her partner conversed with the green-haired doctor.

"Yes, Miss Rose?" Yesod queried, getting a little uncomfortable from her staring. He felt like something was about to explode.

"You're using a Key Page, r-right?" Ruby whispered as she stuttered a little bit. She didn't want Doctor Oobleck to overhear this.

"Yes. Tamaki of the Full Stop Office," Yesod spoke in his usual tone. Oh, she was just curious about the Key Page. He was afraid she might get in his personal space. After seeing the panicked expression on Ruby's face, the purple librarian enjoyed it before explaining. "Doctor Oobleck fully knows about the Key Pages—do not worry. He knows about our home… from simple deduction."

The history professor had doubts about their origins from a few things. Roland's pajeon was nowhere found anywhere in Remnant, the Librarians had no last names nor their names were colors, they lacked some understanding of Remnant, and lastly, Oobleck had seen Gebura's E.G.O. and knew it couldn't be a Semblance. With all that, the doctor came to the conclusion that they came from another world. That day he figured it out was hell for Malkuth.

"Phew," Ruby exhaled her breathe before continuing. "Who was she?"

"A Grade 6 Fixer. Much like you, Miss Tamaki is an excellent sniper; often maintaining her weapon and taking pride in her accuracy. However, Tamaki is straightforward, reserved, and attentive," Yesod answered.

"Oh, okay." Ruby gave him a thumbs up. "But…"

"Yes?" Yesod intoned.

"What kind of rifle is that? The sleek design of the gun gives it a stealthy vibe that a spy from those movies would use, though I would personally like to have a bigger stock. I also noticed there's no scope meaning that it's a mid-to-long-range rifle and no magazine from what I see. Oh! Maybe there's an internal magazine. That would make sense. Also, judging from the barrel, there's no rifling either—the gun would be super inaccurate if that were the case. Was this gun developed poorly or is it a musket?"

"Miss Rose."

"Though it doesn't fit that personality, it's way too advanced-looking to be a musket. It has to be a sniper but everything about it contradicts everything a sniper should be. No rifling, no scope, and maybe no mag. This has to be the worst gun I've ever seen!"

"Miss Rose."

"If it were up to me, I would have designed a gun like my Crescent Rose. Wait! Does it have a name? It has to be something cool like Midnight Rose."

"Ruby!"

"Oww!" Ruby yelped in pain. As she was rubbing her side, she turned to her partner. "What'd you do that for, Weiss?"

The white-haired girl only crossed her arms and gave her a stern look. Ruby looked around the bullhead to see that everyone was looking at her. Embarrassed, she ruffled the back of her head.

"Oh… sorry."

"Do not apologize, Miss Rose. We, as a people, are social creatures—we were just born like this. Much how you enjoy talking about weapons, I enjoy telling people about history. Everyone here has something passionate they love that they could ramble endlessly. For example, Miss Schnee here could rant to us about the intricacies of Dust most would never know about—"

"Hey!" Weiss indignantly complained before realizing something. "That's… not entirely wrong."

"—Never feel the need to apologize for something innately human," the green-haired man finished.

"Thank you, professor," Ruby said with surprise in her voice.

"It's 'Doctor,'" he sternly reminded her. It was then he looked outside the window of the bullhead. "Ah, we have arrived! Prepare to land in Vale's greatest failure, girls and gentleman."

"Mountain Glenn," Ruby spoke with dread in her voice.

—SOME MINUTES LATER—

—MOUNTAIN GLENN—

As soon as the bullhead flew over the streets of Mountain Glenn, the doors to the airship opened wide. From what the group saw, many ruined buildings were close to crumbling. Gray fog covered the ruins, most likely caused by the debris and dust, creating a sort of eerie atmosphere. To the purple-haired librarian, it looked like what happened to District 12 after the collapse of Lobotomy Corporation. Curiously, it didn't seem like vegetation had taken over the city, but there were some patches of grass and weeds beginning to seep through the cracks. All in all, it embodied a true abandoned city.

When the airship got close enough to the ground, Team RWBY and Oobleck jumped out with their weapons drawn, sparring the professor, who held his coffee canister. After surveying their area, the girls lower their guard as they find that no enemies are in sight. As calm as he was, Doctor Oobleck took a sip of his coffee.

"Ladies!" Doctor Oobleck shouted to grab their attention. "You still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?"

All the girls nod in response, however, something on the red-and-black girl catches Oobleck's attention.

"Ruby!" The poor girl becomes startled after her name gets called. "I thought I told you to leave all your bags at school."

"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," Ruby excused herself.

"She's not wrong…" Apparently, that made the doctor think to himself. After some thought, he reluctantly let it go. "Very well, Ruby; leave your bag here, we can pick it up upon our return."

"But I, well uh—"

"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important to bring it with…" Before he could finish his sentence, the bag's zipper opened up by itself and a dog's head popped out. Everyone around the girl stares at the uninvited guest.

"Get back in the bag," Ruby whispered using the sides of her mouth.

In response, all she gets is a bark from the black and white dog. All the others, except Blake, just stare at Ruby. Blake, especially, jumps back in fear.

"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought… a dog?" The doctor questioned.

"I, uh…"

"Genius!" The sheer volume of his voice echoed across the city as he jumped in joy. Ruby gave the others a confused shrug before a blur snatched the dog away from her, causing her to tumble to the ground. Spinning the dog around, Oobleck praises the dog which causes Zwei to bark happily.

After getting up, Ruby proudly declared with a grin, "I'm a genius!"

Her team, however, facepalms in response.

"So, what are your orders, Doctor?"

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase; I like it!" The doctor lets go of the dog, dropping him to the ground. Oobleck adopts a serious pose as he puts his hands behind his back. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being… Grimm."

The redundancy of his explanation stumped Team RWBY, who all gave the professor a confused expression. Only the team leader spoke up, "Uh, what?"

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us at this very moment." All of Team RWBY turned to see a single Beowolf prowling the streets a distance away. Before the team of girls could rush in to attack the lone Grimm, the doctor stopped them. At their confused expressions once again, he explained it further. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, the most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity: sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred. All qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent. Thus, we wait. We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey."

"How long do we wait?"

"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months - and there's the whole pack." As if comedic, five more Beowolfs appear beside the first, and then red eyes spot the group.

"What?" Weiss questioned with a baffled tone.

"And now they've seen us."

At that moment, three more Beowolves popped up in a different area than the rest, then seven more in another area, and then there was an entire pack of Beowolves in front of them. A total of fifteen or more Grimm had surfaced, and even more could have been around. Begrudgingly, it was to be expected; they had landed in the Grimm's backyard, what else could they have thought?

"I take it tracking them is out of the question?" Ruby asked.

"An accurate assumption, yes."

"What's the plan, then?"

"Show me what you're capable of."

Soon, the pack of Beowolfs descended onto the group of people plus one dog.

"Wait, I just noticed something. Where's Mr. Yesod?" Ruby asked with a panicked tone. She realized that the purple-haired librarian had not jumped out with them and was missing.

On the other hand, Blake sensed something wrong at the moment. All the Beowolves were surrounding them from one angle, as if they wanted their attention. From what she could actually remember from Grimm studies, Beowolves in large packs have a leader—usually the eldest, but she didn't see one. Focusing all her attention on her ears, she heard a sound behind them. Whipping her head around, she noticed a giant black body covered in white bones and spikes right next to them. The Grimm had the shape of a Beowolf, but it looked bigger, deadlier, and much more frightening.

"Behind!" Blake yelped to her team and Oobleck, causing all of them to turn their heads around.

"Alpha!" Oobleck shouted at the sight of the beast, and activated his weapon on instinct. Without no hesitation, the Alpha bared its claws and thrusted it forward toward the closest person: Ruby. No one else was able to stop it as they—

["Right here, Ms. Rose."]

In one second, the Grimm was instantly trashing all over the place. In the next, the sound of a gunshot reverberated throughout the empty City. With smoke emitting from its eye, the Alpha Beowolf spasmed backward away from the group, unaware of what happened to it. The sight of the blackened monster's wailing form shocked the group; the first to move was Ruby, who trailed where the bullet came from. Over in the distance, the young girl noticed a purple blob of hair on top of one of the buildings.

["It is staggered. Finish it quickly," Yesod suggested.]

Ruby quickly pulled out her Scroll, seeing Yesod's face on the screen. Then, she recalled Doctor Oobleck mentioning something about modifying their Scrolls. However, she couldn't care at the moment; she was more excited about that shot.

"Thank you!" Ruby said to the librarian as she rushed toward the Alpha, using her Crescent Rose to boost herself. She wrapped around the Grimm, taking the chance to inflict damage. As she runs around the Grimm, she calls out to her teammates. "Yang, Blake! Take care of the other wolves with Bumblebee! Weiss! Peppermint!"

Soon, both the black and yellow of Team RWBY dash off toward the incoming pack of Grimm. Snapping out of her trance, Weiss rushed forward as well, a grin seen on her face. Doctor Oobleck watches both halves of the team with an approving smile as Zwei curls up into a ball.

Weiss raises Myrtenaster into the air, revolving the weapon's chamber to wind Dust then ice. A Glyph appears above the Alpha and then starts to rain down a blizzard of ice and snow. Her partner starts to pick up some of the snow as she runs around, causing a snowstorm to appear around the Grimm, blinding it to its surroundings. Even with one eye, it still can see the bright red of Ruby's cape.

The Alpha immediately swings at the red and strikes, however, it only manages to slash a rose petal caught in the blizzard storm. Soon, it realizes that there are multiple rose petals scattered all over the white storm surrounding it. Then, a red blur launches out from the storm and slashes the Alpha, startling it. Just as it was reeling from the attack, Weiss entered the storm and stabbed her weapon into its back before retreating into the snowy blizzard.

Just as the Alpha Beowolf was being taken down, Yesod climbed down the crumbling stairs of the ruined building he stood on. After he had watched Team RWBY and Doctor Oobleck jump out of the bullhead, Yesod asked the pilot to drop him off on top of a nearby building; he didn't want to either fall to his death or break something. Upon reaching the ground floor, the purple-haired librarian made his way over to the green-haired man, watching the team of girls deal with the Grimm.

"Ah, Mr. Yesod," Oobleck greeted, holding Zwei in his arms. "Fine shot indeed! I see that you are well experienced with firearms, yes?"

"I have more than enough experience, doctor. Though, I believe it was more of borrowing than having."

"Please, call me Bart, we are co-workers after all."

Yesod nodded in acknowledgment, "Then you may call me Yesod."

After that brief exchange, the two men looked back toward the battlefield. It looked like Yang and Blake had dealt with their share of the Grimm while Ruby and Weiss were still keeping the Alpha trapped. Though, they should hasten their efforts if they wanted to find the White Fang.

"Yesod, what do you think about these girls?"

Yesod raised an eyebrow, a little surprised and curious about the sudden question. Unlike his usual goofy behavior, the doctor adopted a stern tone similar to Yesod's. Yesod looked over to the doctor to see his brown eyes behind his glasses. Even Zwei whimpered as if he was confused as well. While the librarian did not answer the doctor, Oobleck continued either way.

"I'm going to ask them why they chose to become huntresses. They have the skill and cooperation to become a great team, but it doesn't matter if their resolve is shallow. I've seen hundreds of students like them, capable, but weak in motives. Miss Belladonna, for example, I know she's the daughter of the previous leader of the White Fang; and if I'm right, she must be here to clear the name of the White Fang or prove that the Faunus are the same as humans. The fact that we're here to check out a White Fang hideout is proof that she's motivated by her past."

Silence took hold of the conversation before Yesod finally spoke. "Let us not assume their reasons for becoming huntresses, it is their motivation, even if they're childish. If you do ask them, please do it one by one. Most people like having their masks… Though, I do agree with your assessment of Miss Belladonna—the past should not define the person, it should serve as a lesson for next time. Current matters should be dealt with current solutions."

"Well said, my friend," the history professor nodded before noticing the Alpha Grimm dissipate into ash. He carefully placed Zwei on the ground who started to run in circles around the man. "Thank you, Yesod, I will keep this in mind. It seems like the skirmish is over, let us proceed."

Without saying any more words, the two men and one dog walked over to the team of girls. When they got there, the first person to speak was Ruby, who lifted her weapon. "Heh, piece of cake!"

"Do not celebrate yet, for I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck suggested.

—HOURS LATER—

—ABANDONED BUILDING—

After they had dispatched the first group of Grimm, they continued to move on. Despite Team RWBY's excitement, they had not found anything relating to the White Fang; the only thing they found was more and more Grimm. It was constant battle after battle, and it was wearing down the girls—both physically and morally. Not even Yesod nor Oobleck opted to help out because it served as training for the girls, which they found irritating.

Though, it seemed like Ruby had taken an interest in how Yesod used his rifle. She had been pestering him about it throughout their search, so it wasn't as if it was just Team RWBY the ones being annoyed.

Currently, Ruby and Doctor Oobleck were securing the perimeter while the rest of the team was settled in a random building. While the rest of Team RWBY talked to each other while huddled around a campfire, Yesod was cleaning a portion of the rubble—trying to make his place to sleep despite his grievances with sleeping on the ground. It seemed like they were talking about Oobleck's questioning. He didn't bother to listen to their conversation. It wasn't long until the two other members of the group returned.

"Ah, wonderful; a textbook campfire!" Oobleck enthusiastically applauded the girls.

Ruby, on the other hand, ran up to the campfire and sat next to it with her dog. At the same time, Yesod finished making his place to sleep.

"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?"

"Yo," Ruby answered as she raised her arm. Then she got up to walk over to the window. However, she was stopped by her sister. Not that Yesod cared of course, it was between two sisters, he had no qualms about overhearing their conversation, so he decided to converse with Oobleck.

"Doctor Oobleck."

"Bart, remember?"

"...Bart."

"Yes?" He obediently answered.

"Based on how no White Fang was present during the day, should we assume that they are active during the night?"

Oobleck hummed, "History details that Grimm tend to sleep at night, so it is plausible that our hidden group strikes at night much like what happened at the Docks. If that is the case, then it would be harder to search for them when they sleep when we search, and we sleep when they lurk. What do you suggest we do?"

"For now, let us get rest."

"A sound idea! Goodnight!"

Instantly, the coffee-addicted man was somehow asleep. Yesod shrugged off the craziness of today and pulled the sheets over himself, hoping that nothing would happen in the night.

—HOURS LATER—

—UNDERGROUND—

In the caverns below the ruins of Mountain Glenn, a multitude of white hoods run around the place. Some are patrolling, some are lazing around, while others are working. Hundreds of crates and boxes are carried by the White Fang and placed onto a train—many by hand, but some by Paladin. The train itself is quite long, about twenty cars including the train engine. On some of those cars, inactive Paladins were lined up waiting to be used. Over toward the side of the cave, Torchwick is standing on top of a makeshift stage of boxes.

"Hurry it up you mutts! We don't got all day!" Roman commanded.

Begrudgingly, the White Fang troops try to work faster. They would've tried to murder the joker of a man, but Adam Taurus's right-hand man would stop them. It also didn't help that Torchwick had several other friends to keep him safe—Neo and Jay, both of whom were talking with each other.

"How are you doing, Neo?"

In response, she gave a small gesture and a smile. To anyone, they would've assumed that it meant that she was fine.

"That smile is fake. You don't have to lie to me," Jay interpreted. "I don't particularly enjoy staying in this place anymore than you do, but it's our job."

Sighing, Neo put up a pouting expression, saddened that she was figured out immediately.

"And there's that pouting again."

He put a hand on top of Neo's head, ruffling it. After a little bit, she swatted his hand away in embarrassment. The multi-colored-haired girl was going to write something on her Scroll, but someone called out their names before she could.

"Neo! Jay! Get up here!" Roman called over. Once the two got to the man, they noticed the White Fang lieutenant next to Roman. The thief commented on Neo's new hairstyle, which earned him a jab to the stomach. Once he apologized, Roman got to speaking. "Now that we're all here, we need to talk about something."

"That being?" The White Fang lieutenant intoned.

"Our workplace relationships! Little miss matchstick disappeared on us and left us dangling on a tightrope. I'd call HR but some of us are animals."

"We know that, get with it already," the White Fang lieutenant only grumbled in response.

"The brats called earlier," Torchwick said as he gestured with his Scroll. "They need a distraction. A big one."

"Why?" Jay asked.

"To rescue their poor, poor leader. She's stuck in Beacon's library apparently and they want some attention somewhere else."

"The Library…" Jay mumbled to himself, before speaking up. "So they want us to start the plan earlier than expected, correct?"

"Yeah," Roman sighed. "I would've liked a bit more Dust, but we'll take what we can get."

"I thought you would've turned on Cinder when you heard she got captured. Helping to rescue her was the last thing I thought you would've done," Jay mentioned. "We don't have to listen to them."

"Please, don't get me wrong, I'd rather hand-feed a Boarbustusk than be chummy with her and those brats but we got our own reasons for helping her," Roman explained as he gestured to himself. "I wanna see how far she'll go with this."

Neo ran up to stand beside Roman and nodded her head, implying that she's only following him out of her own interests. Cinder and her followers weren't of any interest in Neo's eyes.

"As long as this helps the Faunus, I don't particularly care how this all plays out." When the White Fang lieutenant said that, he left to go inform the other White Fang members.

Jay, however, was looking down toward the ground. He was only here because Roman said that Cinder would help him after he helped them with their goal, but that changed. Cinder is gone, so the deal he made with her is invalidated. Though it seemed if Cinder escaped, she might be more obligated to help them in return. A bit of a stretch, but it's something. "If everyone else is in agreement, I see no reason to oppose it."

"Good, now then, how are we going to get everyone off the train then?" Roman wondered. While he went over the plan by himself, making sure they wouldn't die in the process, he watched the White Fang continue loading up the train with Dust.

All of a sudden, an explosion shook the entire cavern. Stalagmites and rocks came falling down from the ceiling, almost piercing everyone below them. A gust of wind blew through, letting the cold night air into the cave. The first thing everyone felt was the fresh air, releasing everyone from breathing in the dust and dirty air inside.

"What was that!?" Torchwick angrily asked. "Did one of those idiots blow up a crate?"

"No, that was… from the outside," Jay answered. "Someone…or something is here."

"That's fine," Roman sighed as he placed his hands on the railing. "Hey! Perry! Get someone else and go check it out! Make it snappy!"

With a groan, the white-hooded faunus picked someone out from the crowd and went to investigate. Sighing, Roman jumped off the ledge, saying that he also would check out the "cargo" to make sure it was alright. Neo and Jay elected to stay and watch over everything. After a while, it seemed like someone was calling out for Roman.

"Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!"

"Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day," Roman groaned from inside the train as he inspected the crates.

"Uh, it's a little girl?" He hesitated.

Roman peeked out the doorway to look at whatever he was talking about. Unsurprisingly, he saw a color he didn't want to see today. He visibly looked bothered and responded back, "That would be bad."

"How bad?"

"Very bad," Roman said as he got up in Ruby's face. "Now, how did you find this place?"

"You stink! That's why," Ruby yelled. "I can see the stink lines coming off of you."

With one look at the White Fang members, Roman saw that they turned away from his gaze. Annoyed, he grabbed the girl by her arms and threw her toward the ground. She slid a few inches before stopping. "Wow! You are much more manageable without that oversized gardening tool of yours."

In a desperate attempt to get back at the criminal, Ruby got up and charged at him. However, it was in vain as Roman steps to the side, causing Ruby to stumble over. All the people around her start to laugh at the failed attempt.

"Oh man. You know, Perry, I really did need this," Roman couldn't contain his laughter. After getting it out of his system, he walked over to Ruby and pointed his cane gun at her. "But seriously. How'd you find this place, Red?"

In another desperate attempt, Ruby activates her Semblance and zooms away.

"Whoa!" Roman exclaimed as he was surprised by the sudden movement. Just as she got far away from Torchwick, she suddenly stopped moving, sparing her head. Upon realizing that she couldn't move the rest of her body, she noticed a thin thread attached to her arms and legs. Then, she started to move unconsciously back toward Torchwick, who had his cane pointed at Ruby. Annoyed, Roman grumbled, "I had that, Jay."

"Again, you need to stop monologuing." Ruby traced who had spoken back behind Torchwick, spotting a man with his hand spread out. Instantly, she knew that he was the controlling these strings.

"What's a villain story without some hero to talk down to?" Roman excused himself.

"All stories like that end with the villain losing…" Jay sighed. "Regardless, instead of antagonizing the girl, we should be interrogating her. Move aside."

Just as Roman stepped back, Jay moved forward in front of the girl, his eyes sternly gazing down on her. He reached out a hand as if to grab her. Like his face, his hand felt menacing and dense. It seemed like if he grabbed her, she would surely die. Powerless, Ruby closed her eyes—she couldn't do anything but await what would happen to her. However, that wasn't what happened.

Instead of the pain that she would've felt, she felt warm a little bit. Then something ruffled her hair. She opened her eyes to see Jay's stern face, but kindness was apparent in his eyes—like he felt reminiscent of this. Looking up, she noticed that it was his hand that was ruffling her head. Just like everyone else present, she was confused. After noticing her relaxed demeanor, he released his hand and stared at Ruby.

"What's your name?"

"Uh…" Ruby didn't know if she wanted to talk to him. He was associated with Torchwick after all.

"I'll just ask questions. It's okay if you don't answer anything."

"Okay…?"

"You're training to be a huntress, right?"

"Yeah…"

"What are you doing here, in Mountain Glenn? It's a dangerous place for a trainee."

"We're— uh… I'm here to exterminate Grimm," Ruby nervously said.

"...This place is much more dangerous than you believe. It would take a considerable effort for Vale or Beacon to merely exterminate all the Grimm here, and it isn't worth killing a few either, they would just return back in greater numbers. And this abandoned hellhole contains the terrible memories of those that fell here and those that remember it—like a stain that won't wash away… The Grimm feeding off this place thrive here and they have grown too difficult to push back," Jay explained. "But, I can guess that isn't the real reason why you're here. Hunting for the creatures of darkness in darkness is a bad choice. What is the truth, please?"

"...To stop him." Ruby pointed behind him. Jay turned to see Torchwick who was sticking his tongue out at her. A deadpan expression painted Jay's face as he couldn't believe this man was a grown adult.

"Don't worry yourself with that clown. He begs for attention," he sighed before returning his gaze toward Ruby. "Do you know anyone named Coral or Ash? Both of them have white and black hair respectively? Kind of look similar to me?"

"No? I don't think I know anyone like that…" Ruby answered.

Jay heavily sighed, "Alright, I have one last question. Then, we'll… keep you here till we're done with our job here. Apologies, can't trust that you won't go telling every Huntsmen where we're at. We'll let you go afterward."

Ruby did not respond to that. Most likely, her team was sleeping and wouldn't notice her disappearance till in the morning. Yang would probably destroy all of what was left in Mountain Glenn just to find Ruby. She would only hope that the rubble didn't hit her down here.

"Can you please tell me what this is?" Jay said as he pulled out an object.

Ruby gasped, "Roland's Mask!"

But, as soon as she said that, she closed her mouth shut with her hands.

"Roland? The mask belongs to him? I see now… They're the same person…" he lightly giggled, then giggled again. It wasn't long until he devolved into laughter, unnerving everyone present. "The masked person and Roland are the same person!"

As soon as Jay continues to laugh like an insane person, an explosion echos through the cave once again.

"Oh, what the…" Roman became annoyed. "Perry, if you and the boys could take care of that? The show is getting interesting."

However, when Perry and the others leave to go investigate, another explosion happens.

"Why was he there in that fire? Did he cause it? Why was my doppelgänger bleeding on the ground? Or was that me? There's so much to ask! Hehehehe!"

"Jay, buddy, what are you going on about?" Roman snapped him out of it. Jay looked puzzled as if he didn't know what happened to him. "Do you not see what is happening right now?"

Jay looked around to see that Ruby had disappeared and there was constant fighting all around the cave. In the distance, he saw another group of people running around that were not a part of them. From what he saw, three other girls and two men fighting against their numbers to help Ruby. Jay could only speculate that the other girls were Ruby's teammates and the two men were professional huntsmen or something similar.

"Attach this cart and spread the word: We're starting the train." Jay looked over to see Roman commanding one of the White Fang.

"Yes sir!" The faunus panically said as he ran off.

"And Jay!" Roman called out. The white-haired man looked at him with a blank stare. "Remember the plan? Get your ass on the train, we're leaving!"

Soon, both Jay and Roman boarded the train with Neo, the White Fang lieutenant, and an army of other White Fang members following behind. Those that didn't make it on were left behind. All four of the important members gathered in the front of the train, waiting. Although, it wasn't long till something came up.

"Boss! They made it onto the train!"

"Of course they did, it's just like Red to save the day," Torchwick groaned. However, he came to a sudden realization. "Wait a minute. This is perfect."

"'Perfect?' We're days ahead of the schedule, and there are huntsmen trying to stop us. What's so perfect about this situation? We're still trying to figure out how to escape this bloody train," the White Fang lieutenant angrily questioned.

"Don't you see—this is merely part of the plan!"

The faunus groaned in annoyance. "I'm done with this idiot human. I'll go stop the huntsmen."

Without any other prompt, Neo volunteered to go as well. She twisted her parasol and skipped alongside the giant faunus man. Apparently, she was raring to let off some steam. Once they disappeared behind the sliding door, Jay opted to leave as well to help defend. On the other hand, it seemed like Torchwick was going to stay as he focused looking out the window of the train engine.

One by one, Jay felt the train become slightly lighter. Then, an explosion boomed across the entire tunnel, signaling the start of the plan. The white-haired man had no idea if they would even survive this fully intact—it was a risky plan after all. If they didn't die by the explosion, then they would surely face death against the Grimm or be arrested.

Speaking of which, he should probably listen to the radio to get a gist of what's happening.

["They're too fast! Get the red one!"]

["The Grimm are coming!"]

["Sniper! Get down!"]

["Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh fuuuc—"]

["He fell off! Is he okay?!"]

["Is that a dog?!"]

["Are you talking about me?"]

["OH MY BROTHERS, A DOG DESTROYED A PALADIN! RUN!"]

["I'll have you know that's a stereotype."]

Turning off his receiver, Jay sighed. Well, no plan survives first contact. It's probably up to him, Neo, and the lieutenant to hold the line now. Considering that there was at least six of them to fight, the odds weren't looking in their favor. Upon finishing those thoughts, the doors to his cab opened.

"Oh, another one?" Blake annoyingly commented.

"..."

"I'll handle this guy," Blake offered as she unsheathed her blade. "You go on ahead, Mr. Yesod."

"..."

"...Mr. Yesod?"

"...No."

"'No?'" Blake lowered her guard and watched as Yesod pointed his rifle directly at Jay.

"Miss Belladonna, I would like it if you let me discuss some things with this man."

Without saying anything else, Blake rushed past Jay who seemingly let her do so. Both men stared each other down, one of which was doing so out of caution while the other out of curiosity, their eyes locked in a silent standoff, each trying to gauge the other's intentions.

"The Puppeteer."

"A… Librarian, I presume," Jay said.

"Yes," Yesod answered. "I had believed you disliked trains. The WARP Train you took had you berating how they operate."

"'WARP Train?' I don't remember such a train existing."

Surprise and intrigue painted the purple librarian's face. "You don't… remember?" How could he not remember? It was the first time he ever interacted with the Library.

"It sounds familiar, but it rings no bell," Jay said. "Though, 'The Puppeteer,' what a perfect moniker for me. It's as if you know me already."

"...It is a title. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I have but one question for you," Jay suddenly spoke. "What is the City?"

"Why are you asking me a pointless question?" Yesod responded with a question. Though, there was something off about the person in front of him.

"If you won't give me the answers, I'll rip them out from you!" Jay said as he put out his hand.

Instantly, Yesod fired a round.

The bullet hit Jay square in the shoulder, causing him to stagger backward a bit. However, the bullet did not pierce through his Aura's shield. With one grasp of his hand, Jay swung his hand downward. Immediately, Yesod spotted several strings floating around him.

The Patron of Technological Science dodged the incoming strings before they could attack. As he moved, Yesod couldn't help but think: is this really the Puppeteer?

For one, he looked exactly the same as his disguise on the WARP train; eerily matching the same situation currently. Another resemblance was the use of strings as an attack. But, why would he ask what the City is if they came from there. It also seemed like he didn't even know himself.

After sticking the landing, Yesod rolled backward to get more distance between him and the Puppeteer. He took aim and fired; however, it seemed like white-haired man had blocked the bullet using those strings of his. Thinking about the situation, Yesod figured that he couldn't do anything with this Key Page's equipment. It was too heavy to be dodging constantly while firing, and there was limited ammo. Add in the fact that these bullets weren't modified like the Thumb's, they might as well be rocks that he's throwing.

Regarding the Puppeteer, with all the pieces being put together, Yesod already came up a theory: the Puppeteer does not have all his memories of the City. Possibly due to memory loss from trauma from when they defeated him.

However, the most pressing issue is that they not only defeated the Puppeteer, they killed him. Yesod was there when they destroyed Philip, Eileen, Greta, and The Musicians of Bremen—all of them never turned into books ergo never became Light.

The same should've applied to the rest of the Distorted Ensemble when the other Librarians defeated them. Jae-heon and the rest of them, by all means, should be permanently dead. Though, memory loss doesn't mean much when it pertains to a dead man.

Now, the man was standing in front of him.

Another set of strings slithered their way toward him, making him focus his attention on them. With precise shots, he gunned down all the incoming strings. But, with that taken care of, Yesod noticed his supply of bullets dwindling down—he would have to either ration them or finish the fight quickly. Yet, there was another option. Based on his question, it seemed like the Puppeteer would be willing to talk, so with his rifle still pointed at Jay, Yesod paused the fight.

"Do you truly not know what the City is?"

"Willing to talk now? Finally," Jay let out a forced sigh. "What it is and where I can find it?"

"It's exactly what it seems like: a city… but it's somewhere unreachable now."

"I see," Jay hummed. "Well, I knew that already. No piece of information has ever referenced such a place, sparing only my memories, another person, and now you."

"Another person…" Yesod narrowed his eyes.

"With that out of the way, Roland is a Librarian like you, right?"

"...Yes… What about him?"

"I've been having these… visions of him," Jay desperately spoke. "I recently found out that he burnt down a laboratory somewhere in the City. Is that the reason why I have a burning hatred for him? Or is it something different?"

"So you don't remember."

"It is the reason why I am talking to you."

"You and Roland both defiled each other's loved ones. It was inevitable that you would hate him; as he would come to despise you," Yesod explained. "Though, considering you don't remember, you wouldn't have any idea what happened."

"Ah." Realization struck Jay's mind. He did remember that person who resembled him was crying out for the safety of his child. Well, that's a very good reason for hating him. But, based on what the purple-haired librarian said, he also hurt Roland. Then, the first real memory he clearly saw came to him. "His loved one was… Angelica, right?"

Yesod's went wide open as he realized that Angelica and the Puppeteer were of the same circumstances. The same person, but didn't have any memories of the City. Well, it seemed like they had some memories, but it was starting to come back to them. Yesod had to think of what common factors led them to be like this, however, he wouldn't have the chance to right now.

"Well, you've confirmed my nightmares. Thank you, Librarian," Jay chuckled. "That's one mystery solved. But, I guess our little talk is over."

Suddenly, the doors to the compartment opened behind Yesod. A white figure came flying out from the opening, upon inspection, it was Weiss who was launched into the room. Following her, the White Fang lieutenant came through with his chainsaw sword revved up.

"Miss Schnee," Yesod said as the heiress stood back up. She looked at him in confusion, as if asking why he was here without Blake. Then, she noticed the other person in the room with them. "We need to fall back."

"Why?"

"The train will soon reach the end of this tunnel, which should be currently blocked off. And when that happens, I doubt most of us will survive the impact."

"But the Grimm and the bombs on the train are behind us. We're also stuck between two problems right now!" Weiss argued.

"Well, I doubt that I'll be affected," Jay chuckled. All of them turned to see the man put his hands in his pockets. Immediately, the sound of glass cracking could be heard. "Considering that I wasn't even here to begin with."

Soon, the glass broke and Jay disappeared into thin air. While Yesod looked indifferent about it, Weiss was shocked because this meant that Yang had lost her fight and Yang was the strongest of their team.

"You bastards!" The faunus suddenly screamed. "You were supposed to take me too! Fuck!" Then, he glared at Weiss. "Whatever, as long as I kill the Schnee, I can die peacefully."

Soon, he charged at them. However, before he could even start running up, he was knocked down cold. Yesod and Weiss watched as the Faunus went limp and turned unconscious before looking up to see Yang.

"Yang!" Weiss cheered. "What happened? That woman used her Semblance again."

"Yeah. Got my butt handed to me," Yang sighed. "She's a strong one, but…" Yang stayed silent for a bit before Weiss talked again.

"'But?'"

"Oh, uh. Nothing," Yang said as she scratched her head. "Anyways, where's Blake?"

"Miss Belladonna is further up the cart. Go if you wish, I will be regrouping with Doctor Oobleck for safety as I don't have any means of protecting myself unlike you two."

"Alrighty, you heard the man. Let's go, Weiss!"

"Stay safe, Mr. Yesod."

"You two as well."

After they moved on ahead, Yesod looked at the unconscious body of the White Fang lieutenant. Now, he was stuck with a dilemma: should he leave the man to die or help move him to a safer location on the train? He pondered his choices before coming to a conclusion.

Grabbing one arm, Yesod dragged the man closer to one of the boxes on the side of the car they were in. Upon touching one of the boxes, Yesod determined that they were sturdy enough and eventually, but struggled to put the giant man into the box.

"—hy…" Yesod heard the man mutter something, but did not fully catch it.

Once that was over, Yesod found a ladder and climbed up to the roof to see Ruby and Oobleck destroy another Paladin. The Paladin flew off the train and crashed between the walls of the tunnel and the train itself. However, it seemed like it wasn't the last of the Paladins as more were approaching from the end of the train. From what he could see, it looked like Ruby and Oobleck were splitting up; Ruby was coming towards him and Oobleck running to take care of the rest of the Paladins.

Without saying a word to each other, Yesod gestured to Ruby to keep moving forward. In response, she gave him a grin and a nod.

Soon, he caught up with Oobleck and… Zwei, who was chewing on part of a Paladin's arm. It seemed like the dog was able to destroy a Paladin by himself… what?

"Ah, Yesod. I see that you are unharmed."

A flame thrower melts a Paladin's arm off.

"Same for you as well. Though, I believe this ride is coming to an end."

Gunshots echoed through the tunnel, almost drowned out by the train.

Zwei barks as he slams into a Paladin's leg, causing it to fall over. How that dog is doing all this? Yesod will question later.

"Truly unfortunate, and the Grimm are nearing as well."

A glance over the train showed that a multitude of Grimm had been following them from the start. The negative emotions of everyone onboard had attracted more than plenty of Grimm. They were close to the train as well, close enough for Yesod to see new Grimm species for the first time. Regrettably, Yesod grimaced as he could see blood stains and patches of white clothing stuck on some of the Grimm. It seemed like those who fell off were not spared.

"A lose-lose situation."

Soon, an explosion rocked the place. Unlike the others, this one affected the train, causing the train to suddenly collapse on itself. Dust and debris filled the area, however, it wasn't long till it was replaced by the scent of fresh air. Then, a bright light blinded all of them.

Coughing, Yesod checked their condition, finding it a miracle that they came out unscathed. Soon, from the hole above them, screams and panic erupted. Hundreds of Grimm started to rush past them, going through the light onto the surface. It seemed like the monsters of darkness were more attracted to the civilians up top. Even if they were worried about the Grimm attacking the innocent, they had more pressing issues at hand—it wasn't long until the Grimm took notice of the two men on top of the train.

As the Grimm started to board the train and the two men prepared their defenses, Zwei softly barked and pointed his nose toward something. Yesod and Oobleck looked at it in surprise. It was still latched onto the train from when they were disabling them. The two of them looked at it before one of them spoke.

"Are you Paladin certified?"

—THE LIBRARY—

On the Floor of Art, the Patron of the floor slept soundly asleep on a couch. As one arm rested over his eyes and one leg dangled from the couch, he let out a snore. He had a good night's rest after a good night's drinking.

He dreamt of a beautiful sunset where it was just him lounging about with a bottle in his hand. Even in his dreams, he's getting wasted. All a sudden, a bird landed on his shoulder in his dream. He turned to look at it, confused but accepting of the bird. Although he couldn't really tell what kind of bird it was, he did not care whatsoever. Then, it opened its beak to perhaps sing a wonderful tune.

Instead, it produced an ear piercing alarm that instantly jolted the green-haired librarian awake. Due to the sudden noise, Netzach fell off the couch he was laying on and barely remembered the dream he had.

"Stupid bird," he muttered. Noticing that the alarm sounds from his dreams hadn't stopped, he realized that something was happening. "What's going on? Angela?"

He was met with silence. Usually, the pale-colored A.I. would respond immediately but it seemed like she wasn't in the Library. With the alarms still blaring, Netzach wouldn't be able to sleep so he decided to just see what's happening outside.

—MINUTES LATER—

—BEACON ACADEMY—

"What in the District 11 is happening out here?"

Neztach questioned as he looked at an entire fleet of battleships floating in the sky heading towards Vale. There were also a multitude of bullheads and other flying aircraft that were taking off from the docks. From the looks of it, he can only guess that something bad happened in Vale.

"Netzach."

He turned to see who called him, finding that it was Dakota who spoke. Behind her, was BongBong. Both of them looked like they were out of breath, sweat dripped from their heads, and their hair dismayed.

"What happened to you two?"

"A lot of shit," Dakota heavily breathed. "Can you help us with something?"

"With what?"

—BASEMENT, THE LIBRARY—

"If you don't release me this instant, I WILL FLAY THE SKIN OFF YOUR BONE!" Cinder angrily threatened. "YOU'LL BE A WALKING PILE OF BURNT FLESH WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU ALL."

"Yeah…" Dakota sighed. "Can you help us with this?"

On a bed, a black-haired girl was strapped to it with what looked like rope. Her arms were bound and a piece of tape was on the side of her face.

While Angela asked Binah to watch over Cinder, Angela realized that they would need two additional people… to at least try and stop Binah from murdering Cinder. The instructions Angela gave the three were to watch over her, restrain her whenever she woke up, and to not kill her.

Easier said than done for Bongbong and Dakota when it concerns people with natural shields that can block a bullet and abilities comparable to magic in the City. It also didn't help with the fact that Binah left them to do it.

"Bong… Bong…"

"I know," Dakota groaned as she walked over and tried to tape Cinder's mouth shut again. However, when she tried to, the black-haired girl raised her head and almost bit Dakota in the hand. "God, you are annoying. Angela shoulda booked you immediately."

"I will kill you," Cinder spat in Dakota's face. "As soon as my powers return!"

Dakota's fist trembled as she resisted the urge to sock Cinder in the face, but heavily sighed instead. She quickly wiped the spit from her face and went back to making sure Cinder's restraints weren't getting loose by tightening them harder.

"AH!" Cinder shouted in surprise. "This is no way to treat a person as great as me!"

"BongBong Bong," BongBong said to Netzach. "Bong Bong?"

"Uhh…"

"She asked if you can help with this. Also, Angela did tell us that if she did wake up, which is right now, we should get some information out of her. Y'know, use some classic City stuff. And Miss Binah ain't here, so~"

"I see…" Netzach rubbed his chin. "Sure, lemme go get something first."

"Get what?" Dakota asked.

"Some vodka," Netzach answered as he hastily left the room. Both assistant librarians deadpanned as they stared at each other.

"Bong Bong Bong…"

"Maybe Miss Gebura would've been the right choice…"

—MINUTES LATER—

"Alright," Netzach said as he held a bottle. "Hold her mouth open."

"I will not ingest your poison, you green-haired scoundrel. I'd rather end my life than degrade myself with that."

"It's something that'll get you a little more agreeable," Netzach explained. "Well, BongBong? Dakota? Any help?"

"And get bit? No thank you."

"Bong."

"I would be gladly available to assist."

Everyone in the room turned to the door. Surprisingly, Binah stood in the doorway.

"You… not you agai—"

Binah's hands were already glowing a bright yellow, then the glass shattering echoed throughout the room. The other librarians turned to see that a blackened spike impaled Cinder's leg. Horrifyingly, blood seeped onto the bed sheets as Cinder screamed out from the pain. Then, whilst she was still screaming, Binah placed a lock in her place—thus, she froze with a pained expression painted on her face.

"AAK—" Cinder croaked.

"Done."

"Binah, you are messed up," Netzach said, then he turned to Dakota. "Can you patch her leg up? The blood is getting everywhere."

"Your compliments mean a lot to me."

"That wasn't a compliment…"

"BongBong! Bong!"

"At least this child appreciates the gift horse I have bestowed upon you all."

"Whatever…" Netzach ignored as he started to tip the bottle. "Now, let's see how much you can drink~."

Author's Note:

Chapter 22 is done!

Although I can't say it was good, I believe it was an alright chapter. There wasn't much to write, but I hope to add more in future chapters.

I was going to post almost all of Field Trip and No Brakes with just Yesod in it, but I stopped to realize how boring that sounds. So I slapped a rough draft of how I wanted the bad guys to work together and see what they do before Ruby finds them. I think it turned out well and I wanted the conversation to match their characters.

Except, we get to Jay or Jae-heon, or whatever. He's starting to figure it out with the help of Ruby and Yesod. That said, I will dismiss any criticism that Jay ignores his siblings. He just wants some leads, and he's placing his trust in Neo who trusts Torchwick who is currently trusting Cinder. Yup. Perfectly normal.

As for Cinder, we'll probably get to see something funny next chapter.

Please tell me if there's any mistakes in grammar or any story-related things, I tend to overlook some things. Anyways, thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day.